


by starlight

by downmoon



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-03
Updated: 2015-04-03
Packaged: 2018-03-20 23:54:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3669762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/downmoon/pseuds/downmoon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Maybe he’s at the point of the night where he’s pleasantly buzzed, or maybe it’s the way Nagisa’s pressed against his back, his arms looping around Rin’s waist, or maybe he’s just sick of watching his friends draw closer, only to bounce away from each other time and time again, like a pair of magnets flipped last second to repel each other.  Whatever it is, it’s pushing words out of his mouth before he can really stop and think about what he’s saying.</p>
            </blockquote>





	by starlight

Rin’s been told many times, by many different people, that he’s not observant, and this information, while it sometimes serves to piss him off, depending on who’s telling him and/or how it’s being delivered to him, is true.  It’s not like he obliviously barrels through his life with absolutely no realization or acknowledgement of the circumstances around him, no.  It’s more like, as Gou tells him all the time, he refuses to read body language.  Rin’s the one who misses the softening of expressions, the way eyes light up, strings of words neatly lined up to _suggest_. 

But, as true as this fact may be, Rin’s not _stupid_ , and one would have to be stupid to _not_ see the way Sousuke’s completely and utterly changed in the past month or so.

“It’s obvious.”

“I know.”

“It’s _so_ obvious.”

“I _know._ ”

Rin’s pretty sure everyone else in their friend group has noticed Sousuke’s attitude recently, but no one’s taken it as personally as Nagisa, like Sousuke’s obvious infatuation with Ai is an insult to Nagisa’s own honor.  And clearly, Rin’s been away too long, because he’s forgotten how _not_  to get sucked into Nagisa’s scheming.

“You haven’t talked to him yet.”

“No.”

_“Why not?”_

“What the fuck, Nagisa!  What am I supposed to say?  ‘Hey, Sousuke, just wondering why you haven’t had sex with Ai yet, since you two are so intent on eye-fucking at every possible moment.’ “

“Yes!  That’s perfect!”

Rin groans into his drink, and tries to pretend Nagisa isn’t leaning into his side, pointed chin digging into his shoulder.

“Anyways, I thought _you_ were supposed to talk to Ai?”

“I did, but as soon as I brought it up, he got mad.”

“He got _mad?_   And that’s what stopped you?”

“Have you ever seen Ai-chan angry?  Clearly you haven’t, because you’re asking.”

“Mmm, point taken.”

Nagisa sighs and tilts so his head is resting on Rin’s shoulder, like they’re back at Rin’s apartment, on his couch, watching shitty reality TV, and not in the middle of a very busy and _very_ public bar.  Rin’s learned long ago, however, that trying to deter Nagisa from all the touchy-feely shit he’s so keen on only means he’s going to lay it on even more, so he’s ignored the invasion of personal space until he just didn’t care anymore. 

The looks he gets from other people are kind of annoying, though.

“Maybe we can trick them into dating.”

“How.”

“I don’t know.  Maybe we can arrange to have dinner with each of them, but not show up.  Then they have to have dinner with each other.”

“Isn’t that from a movie?”

“That actually might work-”

“I’m pretty sure that’s from a movie.”

“Shut up, Rin.”

Rin’s interested, now.  Nagisa’s rarely this quiet, and rarely this still.  He’s pinching Rin’s arm, but he’s gone still, his eyes wide as his mind processes something...that’s probably gonna turn into a bad idea.

“Oh no, you can’t possibly be thinking that this is actually gonna work.”

“But _think about it!_ ”

“No.”

“ _Rin.”_

“Shit like that happens in _movies_ , Nagisa, not real life.”

“People _in real life_ don’t spend two months tiptoeing around each other because they’re both too blind or too stupid to make a move!”

Rin opens his mouth to retort, but for once, Nagisa has a point.  Sousuke’s not the type to avoid a challenge or a hurdle or an uncomfortable conversation, and even though Ai’s always been a little shy, a little more of the suggestive phrases and longing glances, it’s so _painfully_ obvious they’re into each other that he and Nagisa shouldn’t even be having this conversation in the first place.

“Please, Rin?  _Pleeeaaase_ help me with this?”

Maybe he’s at the point of the night where he’s pleasantly buzzed, or maybe it’s the way Nagisa’s pressed against his back, his arms looping around Rin’s waist, or maybe he’s just sick of watching his friends draw closer, only to bounce away from each other time and time again, like a pair of magnets flipped last second to repel each other.  Whatever it is, it’s pushing words out of his mouth before he can really stop and think about what he’s saying.

_“Fine.”_

It’s kind of worth it, just to see the way Nagisa smiles like his face will crack with his joy.

 

-

 

“I still don’t know how you talked me into this.”

“Quiet, Rin.”

He’d played his part, convinced Sousuke to have dinner at a restaurant he’d been wanting to try (that just so happened to be Ai’s recent favorite, according to Nagisa), but snuck in an hour early with Nagisa so they (read: Nagisa) could wheedle and beg and bully the waiter into seating them at the perfect observational booth, and _then_ convince that waiter to pull enough strings so that Ai and Sousuke, when they _eventually_ decided to have dinner together, would be seated at that table by the window with the romantic candles and the ambience.   

Nagisa had insisted on disguises, though, so Rin had tucked his hair up under a hat, and Nagisa had an old pair of Rei’s glasses with the lenses popped out.  They might as well just have gone for fake mustaches and newspapers with eye holes cut out, given the cheesiness of the situation, but, just like Nagisa had guessed, Sousuke and Ai seemed much too absorbed in each other to pay much attention to the people around them.

Of course, he’s only basing the mental image on what Nagisa’s telling him.  He can kind of see most of Sousuke, but where he’s sitting cuts off the entirety of his view of Ai.  Nagisa’s the one with the good view, so he’s taken to peering over his menu, and kicking Rin’s ankles whenever something good happens.

“Ai looks so happy,” he says, when he’s working his way through his fourth appetizer, the one Rin’s probably gonna end up paying for.  He says it so sincerely, though, and the expression on his face is so startlingly soft, that Rin’s heart burns in his chest.  Ai’s been sad for a long time, he thinks, this gauzy cloud of sorrow hanging around him ever since he entered college.  It disappears sometimes, or Ai’s become especially good at tucking that cloud away, but it’s been a long time since Rin’s seen the same sweet, happy boy he knew in high school. 

“Oh my god, they’re done, they’re leaving, what do we _do?”_

“Don’t stand up, idiot!  Get the waiter, we’ll leave in five minutes.”

The waiter swipes Rin’s card in three minutes, and Nagisa’s squirming in his seat, so Rin deems three minutes enough time to sneak outside and see if Ai and Sousuke were still around.  Nagisa’s excitement must be contagious, because Rin finds himself a bit giddy when they leave the restaurant.  There’s something childish and fun about sneaking out quietly and carefully, Nagisa wrapped around his arm.  His hold tightens when they both spot Ai and Sousuke a little farther down the sidewalk, walking slowly next to each other.  He and Nagisa definitely aren’t close enough to hear what they’re saying, but Rin can see the way Sousuke’s head tips back when he laughs, and the smile that hasn’t quite left Ai’s face when they pass underneath the treetlamps. 

“I feel kind of bad,” Nagisa admits in a stage whisper, tugging Rin in a slow zig zag across the sidewalk, “like, they need to hurry the _fuck_ up and get together already, but…”

“It’s like spying, like we’re seeing something private.”

“Yeah.”

Nagisa rests his head on Rin’s shoulder, something that’s becoming awfully familiar the longer he and Nagisa hang out, but then Nagisa’s yanking him into the shadows on the edge of the sidewalk and pointing in the direction of Ai and Sousuke.  It looks like they’re about to part for the evening, Ai dancing from foot to foot in the chilly air as he waits for the bus. 

“Ooh, Sou-chan looks nervous.”

“What?  How can you tell?”

“Come on, how long have you known him?  Look how he’s looking around, the way he keeps putting his hands in his pockets, and then taking them out.  And _Ai_ , oh my god, look at his smile.”

Nagisa’s about to go on, because he takes that deep breath that means he’s about to launch into something long and wandering, but he shuts his mouth with a click of teeth, and digs his fingers hard into Rin’s arms.

Sousuke’s tall enough that Ai’s pressed up on his tiptoes to kiss him, his small hands pressed against Sousuke’s neck, thumbs running over the edge of his jaw.  It sets a burn in Rin’s throat, the intimacy of the moment, even if they’re in the middle of the sidewalk.  It’s a slice of something he shouldn’t be seeing.

“Come on, Nagisa,” he says, tugging him in the opposite direction.  Their arms are still looped together, so it’s easy to make him follow, even if Rin’s strides are a bit too long for Nagisa to easily keep up.

“Felt weird, seeing them.”

“Yeah,” says Nagisa, although he’s smiling, “ ‘s sweet, though.”

“Mmm.”

“We’ll just never, _ever_ tell either of them.”

“ _No_ way.”

“At least, not when Ai’s likely to kill us.”

“That could be a lifetime, Nagisa.”

“You’re right.”

Nagisa laughs, the sound cutting clear through the din of city noise, and rushes forward, until he’s grabbing for Rin’s hand and pulling them both faster.  Rin decides later, when they’re both breathless and smiling, with Nagisa’s hand squeezing in his, hearts pounding loud in their chests, that wasting his time maybe wasn’t such a waste after all.

**Author's Note:**

> [tumblr](downmoonwrites.tumblr.com)   
>  [twitter](https://twitter.com/dyefighter)


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